Your Ocean My Land
by X-HARU
Summary: Taichi’s a merman who wants to be human. And Yamato’s a prince who needs to get married before his seventeenth birthday.What sacrifices would Taichi make for something he desperately wants? [Taito]
1. Chapter 1

Yeah. I kinda' got this one sitting in front of the TV and thinking Taito all the way through the movie... so i finally got around to writing it. Too much talk no action - lets get going.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon (sadly) and i do not own the little mermaid all credit goes to disney (though there isnt very much to do with it)

**Warnings** Shonen-ai/Yaoi. AU. Character death (so sorry)

Anyway, i hope i get my message through in the first chapter. Read on.

* * *

**:Your Ocean My Land:**

_Chapter One: Finding Answers_

Yamato cleansed his face with the salty ocean water, crawling back onto the deck with excitement. It was his first time on a boat and he cherished every second he spent out at sea.

"Yamato! Where have you been? I've been looking all over this godforsaken ship thinking you fell overboard!" A voice said from behind him. Yamato drained the water out of his shirt making small puddles below him.

"But I love this place, Joe! I love everything about it! I just wanted to get out a bit!" Yamato protested to the blue haired boy.

He may have loved the ocean. But his father would never have approved of him tagging along with his older brother if he had known they were going out to sea. Being prince had its advantages, but royalty were always treated like babies when it came to things like safety. Wherever Yamato went there would be one of his fathers servants following him around and whispering short words of advice to keep safe. The ocean was his way of escaping it, but of course his father protested against the ocean and everything to do with it.

After half a year of swimming he began to think the more he swam, the longer he could hold his breath underwater. So even to increase the time he could do this, he'd dunk his head underwater in the bath and time himself. To turn him off the ocean, his older brother, Joe would try scaring him with the 'sharks live in water, Yama,' trick.

"I don't understand why I can't go near the ocean! What's wrong with it?" Yamato muttered angrily, sitting down on the bottom platform where his legs dangled in the water.

"Father thinks it's dangerous. And I'm only following his command. There are all types of odd creatures that live down there, Yama." Joe explained.

"I'm not scared," he whispered back. Joe sighed and folded his arms across his chest leaning into the side of the ship.

"You will one day when you loose a limb or something. You just have to wait until you encounter a life and death situation. So when you're stuck underwater in the jaws of a shark, don't come crying to me! Because I _wont_ be coming in after you."

Yamato smiled and shrugged nonchalantly, "Fine… then you can explain to dad why I'm dead. No loss to me." Joe stared at him drawing his lip back between his teeth in panic. He bit down to the point he broke the skin. Yamato always made him do this. He'd say things that made Joe worry, and with Joe having a guilty conscious it was easy to pull a harmless trick or two to get his way –when necessary of course.

"I don't even understand why you followed me!" Joe snapped, walking toward the smaller youth. "Father tells you time and time again you should-"

"Get my head out of the water and settle down with the right girl! I know!" Yamato groaned. "And I don't care…"

Yamato restlessly got to his feet and dived head first into the ocean. Joe gasped and ran to the edge, barely stopping before he fell in. His eyes studied the crystal clear water to find the swimming figure. As he expected, Yamato was headed for the surface for air. "Yamato!" he yelled, voice overpowering the calls of the seagulls.

Yamato lifted his head from the water –wiping the salt from his eyes- to face him. "Yeah?"

"Gah! You always have to make my life more difficult don't you? When I catch you, Yamato. I swear on everything holy, you will be in _so _much trouble!" Joe stomped his foot against the platform. Quickly without thinking, he removed his shirt –carelessly tossing it aside- and dived off the platform into the perfectly regulated water. Yamato was nowhere in sight. He panicked, "Yamato! Yamato!" the blonde youth swam up from behind splashing water at the back of his brother's head.

"See, this can be fun!" Yamato smiled a genuine smile, submerging beneath the surface.

It wasn't often they bonded anymore. Joe was always too busy nowadays to play around with his younger brother. He had his father always telling him about the responsibilities the older brother always has in the royal family. Yamato was always somewhere close by to hear the lecture. Long, boring and pointless he called them. The lectures blunted his brother to the maximum, and almost to the point Joe had forgotten what the meaning of fun actually was. Being out there in the ocean –not having to hear his brother lecture him like his father- was fun.

'_Will I ever see that same smile on his face again after this is all over and we head back home? Well, its not like anyone else in this world has it any worse,_' he asked inwardly, propelling himself away from the older boy's outstretched hand as an attempt to tag him.

* * *

"I don't know what to do with you anymore, Taichi. This is all becoming too much for one merman to take care of!" the king said, staring at his only son in the throne room. 

"But-"

"But nothing!" King Triton went on again about how humans were the most dangerous beings in the entire world. Being king of the ocean, he had to look out for his son's safety, and mucking about on the surface to mingle with humans is no way to avoid being _hooked_- literally speaking of course.

"If they get the chance, Taichi, they'll kill you! I can't leave this kingdom with a son that can't be _normal_." He bellowed. Taichi found it somewhat offensive and decided he'd smart mouth back,

"I try! You tell me to '_try my best'_! Obviously my best isn't up to your standards!"

"That's not what I'm saying!" the king retorted furiously. "You do the complete opposite to everyone else in the palace! If someone goes left, you go right. If everyone loves seaweed stick, you hate it. We all hate humans, and you love them!"

"I don't love humans!" Taichi hissed through his teeth.

The king sunk back into his throne, massaging his temples, "Why was I cursed with you? I didn't do anything wrong when I raised you! No mistakes! You were perfect in your childhood," that was the problem. Taichi hated it. His childhood was nothing but a list of horrid memories.

He noted his first difference back when he was only six or so. He and his best friend would play friendly games of hide-and-go-seek in Coral Reef. He was the son of Triton, and his friend was the son of a divorced –and very crabby- mermaid. Taichi always knew he liked the boy, but never more then a friend. It didn't even strike him until the day the boy approached him and said he was leaving forever –off with his mother Taichi presumed. Just before seeing the last of his best friend, Taichi approached him, biting his lip and wrestling with his hands. Then quickly out of emotion he jerked forward and kissed the boy quickly on the cheek and turned red all in one moment.

Not long later, his father sat him down for a long lecture. Triton told his son he had seen the harmless kiss. Before now, Taichi didn't think there was anything wrong with it. But Triton distinctively got the message through to Taichi with his outraged tone of voice, "Outrageous! It just doesn't happen, Taichi! You just don't do that! As prince of Atlanta, you are bound to only love a woman! I am relying on you to keep up the royal family and one day have your own child."

Not _really _understanding the situation, Taichi opened his mouth and forced out the words with a childish slur, "What if the baby had two dad's instead of a mum and a dad?"

Triton could only stare.

"W-would that be alright then?" he stuttered, avoiding his fathers harsh glare.

"Absolutely not!" Triton cooled off. "That's not even possible, Taichi… I know you're young, so I can't get mad at you for things like this. Just please don't go against me law, son…" Triton wrapped his thick muscled arms around his son and kissed his cheek. Taichi was quiet though on the inside he was more confused then ever.

"Taichi!" Triton screamed. Taichi quickly snapped his head back up after escaping from the flashbacks his mind pressured on him.

"Huh?"

"Have you been listening to _anything _I've said?"

"A little."

Triton was irritated, and his narrowed frown showed it all. Tiresome from lecturing his son, Triton got up from his throne and drifted down toward the brunette youth. Taichi flinched –thinking he would physically be punished for the nonsense- one eye stiffly opened and saw his father holding an angry stare.

"You want to be different?" Triton's eyebrows rose, while Taichi's lowered with no reply. "If you want to be different, take a look at!" Triton cut off.

"At?" his son queried.

"Forget it," Triton closed thinking it was for the best. Taichi started to move toward to door. "Stop!" Taichi instantly complied. "As punishment for yelling at the king, you will go to your room and stay there until I see fit." Triton looked around. "Izzy!"

A small orange fish came through a side door and peddled as fast he could through the water, panting by the time he reached Triton. "Yes… your majesty?" The fish sighed heavily in pain, using its small red fins to clutch the underside of its rounded belly.

Triton took no notice of it and continued, "You'll check up on, Taichi every now and again wont you?"

"Yes. Well. I-"

"Dad!" Taichi bellowed. "You're _not_ going to do this to me? I don't need one of your stupid little clowns to watch over me! I'm sixteen damnit! I have the right to do as I want!"

"And I have the right to make you do as I please!" Triton retorted, still angry.

Easily giving up, Taichi squinted his eyes almost on the verge of tears and flicked away, swimming as fast he could out the door in rage.

Triton slunk back to his throne and sat down. He felt guilty, and buried his face in his hands, mumbling, "I'm a terrible father, Izzy."

Izzy didn't know if it was best if he replied. He knew from previous encounters that it was never wise to back the king up on any of his theories. A few blows to the ears made him think twice before he patted his fins together and wheezed, "You're doing a great job with him… he's just a little disobedient, sir. That will all fix up in time. Like all children, he's just going through that teenage stage." He grinned.

"I don't know anymore… I just don't want to be remembered as the king in the royal Atlantean line to ruin everything. He just doesn't listen to me…"

The lazy grin Izzy wore faded. He knew above all what Taichi was like. He had been the king's right hand fish for well over sixteen years now –since Taichi was first born- and that meant he was truly like a father to the boy.

His eyes fell to the throne. On Triton's command, he swam off after Taichi.

* * *

Taichi's body weaved up and down through the water as he swam incredibly fast toward his corners of the undersea castle. 

"Hey," a feminine voice called after him. She waved flipping out from behind a pylon.

Taichi acted dull. "Hey, Sora…"

"Great to see you made it out in one piece!" she teased. Taichi stared almost staring right through her. "Don't give me that look now, Tai." Edgily, she put her hands on her hips and frowned at him.

"I'm in trouble damnit!" he yelled.

"Trouble?" Taichi –feeling restless- pushed her aside and continued swimming. Sora followed, keeping right on his tail. "What do you mean, trouble? It's not like we did anything _truly _terrible! So we toyed with a few of the Atlantean guards. Who cares?" she shrugged coolly. Sora was always easy going. They had always gotten together for fun –or as Taichi's father called it, mischief- every day. After Taichi's father ban him from ever befriending another merman again he turned to Sora, who he claimed rightful best friend.

Taichi let Sora into his room and locked the door. He combed his fingers back through his hair and sighed while Sora swam over to his bed and stretched herself out over it, "I don't believe it." He stated.

Sora got up from her comfortable lying position –with her back in the bed, and head sinking into the pillow- to face her best friend. He looked angry, his hands tightened in fists, gritting his teeth rigidly.

"Don't believe what, Tai?"

"He thinks there's something wrong with me! I can't help it if I act this way! It's not my fault! I didn't ask to be like this!"

Sora winced; this is what she heard every week. Time and repeated, his father would do this to him. Sora often wondered if he'd ever get sick of trying to change Taichi. She never thought there was anything wrong with the way he acted. In fact, she thought he'd be a great king for his time.

"Come sit," she invited, patting a space on the bed beside her. He accepted, resting his hands on the lower part of his body. "There's a way out of this, Tai. There's a way out of everything."

"He wants me to get married, _Sora_!" he stopped to catch a breath. "He doest care what I think or feel. I just can't do it! I'm not cut out for royalty. I just want to live like a human and escape all these merman problems!" he leant forward, burying his face in his hands. "Human's aren't homophobic at least… There's nothing wrong with wanting to be human is there? Is there _something_ wrong with liking another merman?"

Sora mused over the question biting her bottom lip nervously. She put a hand on his shoulder for comfort. "No. There isn't. I don't think so anyway… I like merman!" she said supportively, though she felt awkward saying this to her best friend. "Has he told you when he wants you married by?"

"Two weeks…"

"Two what?"

"Weeks," he repeated. "Two weeks. He wants me to get over my obsessions and think of everyone else for once."

"But you can't make others happy, unless you're happy!" she retorted.

Taichi lifted his head, working out a kink that had squirmed its way into his mind. "There has to be some other way to do this," he muttered, throwing his back into the bed.

"Of course there is… you just haven't figured it out yet."

Taichi shot back up and faced her. "I have an idea!" It wasn't one of the brightest, but he'd do just about anything to make it out of this royal wedding. Sora stared partly worried and a little keen. "What if I… marry you?"

"Ewe! Heck no! I'm only fifteen!"

"So what, I'm sixteen and I'm being forced into this!"

"We're best friends, Taichi. Honestly we are, and I'd do anything for you. I can put up being friends with you… just can't marry you," she laughed. "We're like brother and sister. You'll just have to think of something else. I want to marry for love, which is what you should do!"

Taichi fell back down onto the bed, turning his head away from her. "There has to be someone out there…"

"Of course there is! You… are just having a little bit of difficulty finding her or him."

Taichi groaned loudly, "Him? Ha! Say that to my father… the last time I fell in love I got into the deepest hole. He left with his mother though…" Taichi's eyes welled up to the break of tears.

Sora blinked. "What was his name?"

The tears in Taichi's eyes stopped as he quickly got back up to look at her. "I don't remember…"

"You mean… you had a love, happy as ever, never forget him, but you forgot his damn name? Then, what did he look like?" she queried, growing into depth with the conversation.

"I don't know."

"Taichi, you shouldn't just make up things!"

"I didn't make it up," he explained. "I just remember kissing him. And I remember he was the most beautiful thing in the entire world…" Taichi's heart throbbed.

Sora –genuinely confused- kept up the questions, "How do you know he's the most beautiful thing in the entire world If you don't even remember what he looks like?"

"He was my best friend!"

Sora smiled, "You _sure_ have a thing for best friends, don't you? Gesh, Tai! First you fall in love with your old best friend, and a few minutes ago you were asking to marry me in order to trick your father! And I seriously don't see what good marrying me would do," she puzzled, making herself more comfortable on the bed.

"Well… don't get me wrong here, I love girls and everything!" he stressed the importance. "But, there are none I feel for. And I'm not marrying because I _have _to. I want to marry someone –like you said- for love. And I can tell you anything, so you'd know I don't _really _love you! But my stupid father wouldn't suspect a thing… then I could go out and chace my dream of being one of them. A human, Sora!"

Sora rolled her eyes away from Taichi. "Human lover! Even if you did want to chace that dream, it's pointless! The only person in this ocean who can make you like them is that filthy sick sea witch."

"Then I'll visit this witch and get her to turn me into a human!"

"Don't be stupid! Your father would freak out! And she's got issues," Sora grumbled. Taichi knew she was right, even if he didn't want to admit it.

Taichi smiled and swam over to the opposite side of the room. He flittered his tail excitedly. "Let's go!" he suggested, pointing toward his window.

"Go where? Aren't you in enough trouble?"

"We'll just go for a quick swim out of Atlanta… the fresh water might do me some good! Who knows, I might think of something while we're gone!"

Taichi opened up the small window and fit through it. Sora sighed and hesitantly followed with no other choice.

Shortly after, Taichi's bedroom door creaked open. Only a small orange fish entered. "Oh, I knew he'd run off! What's is the king going to say about this? Think of the trouble's you will's be in, Izzy… this is bad!" The fish blobbed over to the window and looked out spotting the two figures swimming out of Atlanta. "If I follows them. I will's be able to gets Taichi home before's the king even notices he's gone…" the fish squeezed his round body through the window and propelled himself after them. "I just hope, Izzy is doing's the right thing!"

* * *

Thanks for reading. Hope you all liked it. I'll try and get the next chappy up ASAP... if you even liked it that is.

**- X-HARU**


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews guys. You led me on to writing the second chapter of this lol! Shout out to you all! Thanks a heap. Yes, it took a few days to get this up. But it's here now! And i realize thereis going to be mistake after mistake. Sorry.

Disclaimer: Do not own Digimon (so sad) and i do not own the little mermaid (so sad too.. gee, if i keep up this so sad thing, i'm going to be one depressed author!)

Read on!

**:Your Ocean My Land:**

_Chapter Two: My saviour, my crime_

Taichi swam quickly over the reef and rocks, Sora right on his tail. They had made it safely out of Atlanta now headed toward a sunken shipwreck. Sora regularly visited, but not as much as Taichi. He loved the fact the ship once carried humans across the ocean without getting them wet. A real masterpiece he often called them.

Taichi pulled back a broken plank on the ship and swam through. "I can never get enough of this place, Sora…"

"You don't know what half of these things are!" she commented, slipping through the broken plank after him.

"I don't need to know… I make a few predictions." Taichi turned to face her with a smile. He swam over to a wet –obviously- candlestick on the table, the wax melted close to the stand. "Look at this," he said, picking it up.

"What is it?" Sora asked, staring at him with a little worry.

"Well, I'm not _too_ sure. But I think humans eat it as some kind of savoury after they finish their main meal."

"What makes you say that?" Sora asked, coming closer and snatching the candle from his hands. She stared at it curiously, squinting to study it up close.

"Well… I take it this is a dining table because it has plates on it," he smacked the wooden table beside them. "And you always eat at dining tables. When I first found this place with… _him_, all those years ago. These things were in the middle of the table. So they must be eaten!" It was a reasonable prediction, though if Taichi had bothered to stick the candle in his mouth and bite it maybe he'd figure out it wasn't much of this theory, _savoury_.

Sora heard something and put it down.

Taichi lifted his head too and looked around, "You hear that?"

"Yeah!"

Taichi swam back through the small opening in the ship, rising as quickly as possible to the surface. He saw another ship –this one floating- on the ocean current. He smile cheerfully and giggled.

Sora popped up pushing the hair out of her eyes, "What's going on?"

"It's people… and they're on a ship of some sort… like the one below us!" Sora didn't have time to ask any questions. Taichi was already off to check out what all the commotion was about in the distance.

"I hate how he takes off without asking what I want to do first!" Sora –feeling irritated- swam after him.

Taichi came close to the ship and hoisted himself up so only his eyes were able to see over the deck. He was stunned to see two young human males talking it up.

"What have I missed?" Sora asked, climbing up beside Taichi.

His eyes were frozen still and his heart pounded in a rhythm he'd never felt before. "Him…"

"Him? Who? The blue haired dude?"

"The blonde," he whispered. "He looks… perfect…"

Sora giggled childishly, intentionally capturing his attention. "What you gonna' do, Tai? Jump up on deck and introduce yourself?"

"I wish…"

"But you can't."

"Because I'm not human…"

"And your father would kill you for both the following reasons," she used her fingers to tally, "One. He's a human, you're a merman. And two, he's a male and so are you. And you don't even know if he's gay or not!"

"I'm not gay!" Taichi yelled through a pathetic attempt he called a whisper.

"Pah! _Sure_ you're not…" she laughed menacingly.

"You don't have to be my conscience twenty-four seven, Sor!"

Sora laughed, "That's a relief. I never thought this break would come for me."

Taichi turned to face the young blonde male again. He smiled weakly at him and sighed aloud. "What I'd give to meet him…"

The read-heads eyes flicked between Taichi and the blonde haired male. She saw the compassionate stare he focused. She smiled and leaned her head in toward the ship. "He's kinda' cute. I wouldn't call him the best thing I've seen. But maybe I only say that because I don't like humans… that much… a little…" Taichi eyed her to the point she broke. "Ok! I have nothing against humans!"

* * *

Yamato fell into the railing above Taichi, not even noticing the merman and mermaid gripping onto the ship just a little below him. "I don't want to go back."

Joe laughed sarcastically, "Well you _are_."

"I don't think I'm meant to be human, Joe… what if I'm supposed to be… someone else?" Yamato briefly sighed and turned to look out at the ocean. It was well lit –thanks to the eternal moonlight slipping in- and it's white rays made quick glittering lights run over the ocean.

"If you got with that damn princess Kathy we'd have no problem! Father wouldn't be hassling you anymore, and you wouldn't be worrying about finding your soul mate, which may I remind you, everyone has!"

"Then mine mustn't be human," Yamato thought stubbornly. He couldn't have cared less about how his brother felt right now. Yamato gripped the banister to the point the wood made a quiet cracking sound.

"You're jealous… aren't you?" Joe asked.

"What would I be jealous of?"

Joe smirked slyly, "Because I'm getting married to Alyce, and you're struggling like the backyard dog. My weddings in six days… yours isn't even planed yet."

"Don't speak to me like I'm crap, Joe!" Yamato said feeling a little flustered. His cheeks deeply reddened making Joe laugh.

"You're going red."

"My face always goes red when I'm holding in so much anger!" Yamato replied. Joe went silent. Yamato kept quiet but inside he knew something wasn't right. "Joe?"

"Oh my god…" Joe gasped. Yamato turned to face a large serries of mid ocean rocks, enough to tear the boat to smithereens. There was a vicious crackle that tore through the clouds as a storm brew in their way. "Yamato! You stay here! Don't move! I'll go get the inflatable ship! Hold on to something!" Joe pushed past Yamato and ran through the closest door.

"You want me to _stand _here?" there was no reply. Yamato began to pace up and down the ship, hands covering his face. He thought quick and started on tying down the sails.

* * *

Taichi stared at Sora worriedly. "They're going to hit a-" there was a strike and no time for Taichi to finish. He winced before hitting the surface of the water. Sora likewise was not as worried.

* * *

Using his main instinct, Yamato ran in after Joe once he finished working on the sails, calling into the crackling fire that started to spread out on the ship, "Joe! Joe! Answer me! I'm not leaving this ship without you!" he was on the verge of tears. There were a few boxes that the fire had spread to. He winced as the fire lashed out across his bare arms and lightly burnt the skin. "Shit!" he blew on his forearm to cool the pain. "Joe damnit! Answer!"

"Yamato! Run!" there was a faint voice from far off, and the sound of wood caving in on top of each other. "Get out!" Coughing a little, he pressed on to find the voice. There was another crackle of light ripping the sky apart.

* * *

Taichi watched as the ship obliterated into planks of broken wood and barrels scattered all over the place. He gasped, feeling his heart skin into his throat. "Sora! Stay here, I'm going to find him!"

"Taichi!" by that time, he was already swimming out toward the burning planks. The smoke make his eyes water, he hadn't felt anything like it in his life. Whatever it was, didn't feel good.

* * *

Yamato was drowning. Even if he had known how to swim, his weak human body was still no competition for the raging storm and he went under, too tired to struggle as dark waters claimed him. But just before he blacked out, he felt something solid pulling at his waist.

* * *

Taichi unravished a sentence of curses when Sora hit shore. He saw her staring over at him from the shallow water; she was wondering if he was going to dry up in the sun out on the sand like he was.

"That was a pretty fierce storm, Tai."

"You're telling me…"

The blonde boy Taichi had saved from the shipwreck was unconscious lying with his back in the sand, drying out in the morning's rays. It had taken Taichi a whole night to pull through the storm with the blonde male under one arm. And trying to keep his head from dunking underwater wasn't an easy task either.

"Oh my god, Taichi! That's a human!" Sora spotted and gasped wide-eyed.

"Calm down! I just saved him."

"He looks dead if you ask me."

Taichi dropped his head down to face the young handsome blonde, covered in salty seawater. He was wondering if it would have been a better option to just let him drown in the ocean, or do what he did and save his life? Either way, he just had to hope the boy wouldn't wake before he left.

Crawling up from under the water was the small orange fish, Izzy. It gaped, just as Sora did and its mouth dropped open.

Taichi smiled outstretching his hand over the unconscious boy's face. He slowly put it down so his fingers ran cold against the boy's skin. It wasn't much different to his own skin, but a exult of energy rushed through him when he did it.

It was like nothing mattered anymore. There was something about this boy that made him want to focus his entire life on being with him. There was just a small thing about the way he looked. So familiar…

* * *

Yamato woke from unconsciousness stiffly groaning. He was too sore to move; he could only feel a slight tingle in his spine as a clammy hand touched his face. He'd grown up to think it would be a nurse after remembering the lightning.

"Huh," he tried hard finding a plenty of energy within him. He opened his eyes to meet two big brown ones. "Whoa!" he jumped back after being startled.

Sora dived underwater, Izzy hid behind a large rock in the shallow water and Taichi dived away from the sand, landing belly first on the yellow grains. It was a gentle graze, nothing to be too concerned about. But he didn't even notice yet his Atlantean necklace had snagged on the boy's pocket chain.

"Wait!"

"Yamato!" Joe ran toward him, dropped into the wet sand and hugged his brother with tears flowing from his eyes. "Oh god, Yamato. I thought I lost you!"

"Joe! There was a fish!"

Joe continued to sob on about how it was his fault Yamato was so oblivious right now. And that it was his fault he lost his brother out at sea. "You are so lucky you floated back here alive."

"No! Joe! A fish!" he made a 'big' gesture with his hands, "A big fish, Joe! It saved me! It looked like it was human! It was a half fish half human! It saved my life!"

Joe ruffled his hair, "Don't be silly. Fish don't save people. It was luck."

Yamato shook his head stubbornly, stumbling forward toward the water running out knee deep. "Joe, you have to believe me! It was a fish-man!"

Joe got up and put his hands on his hips replying, "I think the term is, Merman! Not fish-man, Yamato. And merpeople don't even exist! You just had a bad dream or hallucinated."

"I _don't _hallucinate!"

Joe laughed wildly, "Seems like the tides have changed on you, bro."

Yamato scanned the waters edge not even thinking to search behind a small nearby rock Taichi had hidden behind, back pressed into it and listening to everything they said. He dropped into a sitting position, sighing, "He was the most beautiful thing… I've ever seen…"

Joe raised his eyebrows high, "He?"

"Wait! No!" Yamato's face reddened when he cleared his conscience of Joe's snicker. "I didn't mean it in that way! I'm not-"

"I knew it!" Joe yelled, teasing his younger brother more. "I knew it all along! Now I know why you never fell for any of those princesses! You're gay!" Joe danced on the spot.

"No I'm not!" he retorted going redder.

"Ha! Sure you're not… let me rephrase, 'he was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen' if that doesn't prove anything, then what does?"

Yamato kicked the water in front of him, digging his hands into the water. The ocean swallowed his arm to the elbow while he reached around for something. He pulled his arm back out, wet, and holding a small seashell fixed to a piece of rope. He would have called it normal, but it wasn't. It was different from every other same looking shell on the beach. It was a trademark.

"It's forbidden…" Yamato whispered. "I bet every other creature in the world can love the same damn sex, and I can't because I'm a stupid prince!"

"Oh, so you do?" Joe tempted.

"Not really. I just think that fish looked…" he couldn't find the right word to finish, so he just left it blank staring out into the water.

* * *

Taichi dropped his head back into the rock and pulled his hands up into his chest rightly squeezing them both, whispering, "I'm not the only one… mermen and mermaids aren't the only creatures restricted to that law… and I'm not the only prince out there who feels like this…" his hands felt around for his necklace realizing it had snapped off. And its whereabouts was with the human. Without that symbol, there was no proof that he was prince of Atlanta.

* * *

Yamato let the water wash up around him, but the tide wasn't strong enough to pull him back out to sea again. He let the necklace sparkle in the morning sunlight, then brought it ack to eyelevel tying it around his neck.

Joe started walking back toward the castle, calling his brother to follow. Yamato complied, getting up out of the water with the only proof he had of the giant fish that saved his life. All he really wanted was the chance to thank him.

And all Taichi wanted, was the chance to get to know him…

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Thanks for reading. Please review. You'll do me a favour by reviewing and it usually motivates me to work harder knowing people wantto read more.

- X-HARU


	3. Chapter 3

That was abnormally quick, eh? LOL thanxs reviewers. I owe you a deal of gratitude lol. Thanks for following up and reading on. Thats why i put this up so fast, because i know people want to read it. So here it is. Chapter three!

Disclaimer: Do not own Digimon or the little mermaid. (we all know this)

Read on!

**:Your Ocean My Land:**

_Chapter Three_

"You have to believe what I saw!" Yamato shouted across the dinner table. Joe felt quite threatened letting his brother yell like that in front of his fiancé. However, his stepmother didn't like it one bit and decided to pull him into line.

"Yamato, that's quite enough for one night. Can I talk to you for a few minutes in private?" she queried, eyebrow risen.

"Whatever."

Joe was somewhat relieved to see him go. Yamato feeling baffled tried to push the words out as fast as possible to his mother as they walked side by side down the corridor to the castle's backyard.

"You're going to believe me. I know _exactly _what I saw, and what I saw was a fish!"

She turned suddenly, "You know what your father thinks about the ocean! Why do you persist on disobeying him?" asked his stepmother. He wasn't very fond of her after his mother 'ran off', as she often told him. He hated hearing it but kept to the though of 'she died out at sea.' It was the best reason his father had for not letting Yamato anywhere near the waters. But that doesn't mean Joe should have gotten any special privileges.

Yamato pouted, "Why does Joe get to do what the hell he wants?"

"Because he's _my _son! You're your fathers only son to that crazy woman you call mother…"

Yamato's hands tightened into fists. If he could, he would have punched her across the face and ran away, but he knew his father was already upset with him tonight and that would be pushing the boundaries.

He'd given in. "Fine. I don't even care. Just because _you _don't believe me, doesn't mean no one else will in time to come. Joe seemed to know what they were, so maybe he knows something we don't know. Maybe Joe's a merman!"

"Stop it!" said his stepmother, slapping him crudely across the cheek. She stepped back and admired the red mark on his cheek with fascination. It was redder than usual. So frankly he was quite used to being hit by her, though he never really could do a thing about it. Because his father would always say, 'don't be a little liar, Yamato,' his stepmother's voice kicked back in. "Don't insult your brother like that, Yamato… go to your room and think about what you've done!"

Yamato glared if only for a short while. The deft emotion slipped away and so did he. It was the best thing he could have done with his back to her. He certainly didn't want another lecture about how Joe was just as equal in the royal family as he was. He was getting pretty tired of it too.

* * *

Taichi sheepishly followed Sora into the throne room. The fish of pure evil –Izzy- had turned them in to his father for sneaking out of Atlanta. He didn't turn them both in for his benefit, but for their own. If anything were to happen to either one of them, he'd be the fish to hear about it.

Taichi tried to stay quiet and let his father get this over and done with. He knew what was coming. Probably another punishment he would surely get over in a great deal of time. But his expectations were pretty low for the king of Atlanta.

"Taichi Kamiya! When I tell you humans are dangerous do you think I say it for fun?" it was a rhetorical question, because he didn't even give him a second to reply. "They have fishing nets to catch fish! They'd eat our kind if they got their hands on one of us! You're no different! Do you think because you're prince of Atlanta, you can just swim where the heck you want?"

"You're only saying this because you haven't gotten the chance to meet a human," Taichi whispered, feeling rather annoyed. It was becoming too hard to keep his good old attitude held in. Sora admired his patients for the king.

"Don't smart mouth me you little brat! I've had enough of you and your attitude!" King Triton smirked and drifted up a little to stare down at the red head and brunette. "Are my punishments not harsh enough on you?"

Sora tried explaining, "But, sir. We know. He was just saving a humans life. If he died, Taichi would have felt guilty."

"Saved a human? A human!" Triton turned to his little orange snitch, eyes narrowed into a death glare. Izzy shrugged his bloated body with a 'please don't hurt me grin' running over his face. It was more the guilt from the small little detail he _forgot _to mention to his king. "I can't believe you saved a human! Of all the things to do, you saved one! My son is going anti-merman!" Triton yelled at the top of his lungs. "I'm afraid I'll just have to make my punishments a little crueller…"

Taichi gasped, closing his eyes with pleads that it wouldn't be something overall dramatic for either of them. He was ready for it.

"I'm splitting you two up-"

"What?"

"What?" they yelled one after each other. Taichi's eyes grew wide with fear, "You aren't serious are you? Sora's my best friend! You can't do this to me!"

"I can, and I will!" Triton retorted. "Sora! You go home and I don't want you talking to my son until he has learned his lesson!"

Feeling rather frightened by the tone in Triton's voice, she quickly hugged Taichi and swam out of the royal throne room before further comments were made by his majesty.

King Triton couldn't contain himself from picking up on Taichi's missing pendant. "The pendant… where is it?"

Taichi felt shock and panic rush through his body all at once. Almost like when you drink a heap of water and flush out your system. His voice was deft and so faint, "I… kinda'…"

"I knew you would loose it! I said to your mother the day she gave it to you that you would loose it! Why must I be right all the time?" he groaned. "You're a terrible child… you can do absolutely nothing right!"

There was silence. Taichi broke it, "You're ruining my life…" he gritted his teeth and backed toward the door. He screamed loudly, "I hate you!" The final words were pronounced with so much anger and so much hatred and meaning all at the one time. Triton knew really meant it.

That was the last straw he was willing to take from his father. No more. He decided he would leave Atlanta until he got a few things sorted out. There was nothing he wanted more than to find this sea-witch and become human. But there was no haste in his decisions… _just _yet.

He swam towards the surface of the water where he was planing to freely roam for a while. Alone. In the big black cold ocean, in the middle of the night as it glistened over him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Yamato feeling quite the same –pissed off and a little aggravated- climbed out his window and dropped using a rope to the bottom in his casual great taste in clothes. They were covered in sand now, socks and all, wet with clingy yellow grains, crunching under his feet.

He ran away from the castle praying none of the guards had seen him leave. He left to his one place of comfort, down on the beach. That's where he began to wander aimlessly, kicking up the sand with his once white socks.

"No one understands anything I do in this kingdom… I hate it and everyone living in that _stupid _good-for-nothing palace…" he grumbled, walking into the shallow clear water. It was about the same spot he had first encountered the merman, and he was just thinking that maybe he was sure to come back. Or perhaps it _was _just in his head after all.

His weak legs gave way under him, falling back. He pulled his knees into his hard chest and began to sob and curse everything.

"Maybe I _should _just drown myself… there would be no loss… its not like my father gives a damn about what happens to me anymore. Not after he married that ugly plastic Barbie he called his wife!" he crawled forward on his knees until the water was around his neck. A prefect level to drown at, he decided.

With a last word of sorry he bent down closer to the surface and stared at his reflection. "My life sucks…" he dunked his head, wetting all dry parts of his body. There was the moment he couldn't breathe anymore. He wanted to pull up for air and feel oxygen pulse through his lungs. But he couldn't allow that to happen.

A faint voice caught his attention, "If anyone should die right now, its me."

Yamato pulled back up gasping for air. "Great! Now you stopped me from drowning! Who the heck do you think you are to just turn up on my side of the beach and startle me?" he scowled.

The merman –Taichi- came into view making Yamato release a short gasping yelp. There was an awkward feeling in his stomach, even if he couldn't see the bottom half of the stranger. He was too human to be merman. "What do you want?"

Taichi shrugged nonchalantly and weakly smiled, "I came here to get away from my home… my dad's being a _real _jerk! But I don't expect you to know how I feel. You're human. You have the best lives in the _whole _world…" Taichi rolled his eyes. He hadn't even seen Prince Yamato clearly, and if he had maybe he would have made a different approach. Even if he wanted to look at him, it was too dark to see.

Yamato nodded. "So what brings you to this shore if you're a merman?"

"I was just looking for someone I thought might have returned here." Taichi turned to face the figure through the night's darkness.

"I was looking for someone too…" Yamato explained. "I guess he's never coming back now… I didn't expect him or her to anyway." Oddly interested in the merman, he asked, "So, what's your name?"

"Taichi." He replied.

"That's a strange name."

"I don't think so! Then what's your name, if mines so strange?"

"I don't have to tell you."

"I told you mine!"

Yamato snickered, "You never _had _to tell me. You just did because mermen aren't as smart as humans. We're the dominant species after all."

"You haven't got homophobic maniacs that forbid you from everything you want at least…" the last statement made himself feel a little worse about his species. Maybe there _was _something wrong with him after all.

"Don't be so naïve. I'm supposed to be getting married, but my father doesn't want our royal line to end how I want it to." Yamato laughed a little at how stupid he sounded out loud, and in front of a merman.

"I'm supposed to become king of Atlanta someday, and my father has no faith in me."

"Wow… so you're an Atlantean Prince then?" Yamato sounded truly fascinated by the words he heard himself say. He couldn't see the image properly, but it was easier to distinguish his brown hair and brown matching eyes now.

"Sure am…"

"Why did you leave Atlanta? That place would be beautiful to live in… besides the whole homophobic part."

"No… its just royalty who gets treated like that. And for your information, I left because I saved a damn humans life today! And for doing that I go into the biggest crap off my father! He went off and ban me from ever seeing my best friend again…"

Yamato's heart throbbed against his chest. The merman swimming around right in front of him, was the merman who saved his life that very day. Too much of a coincidence for them both to turn up in the same place. "Oh… this human… why did you save him?" Yamato decided he'd toy with Taichi for a little while until he found out more about this strange half human half ocean dweller.

"I liked him."

"How did you get to know a human?"

Taichi splashed water into his face and rubbed his eyes thoroughly with the clear salty liquid. "I didn't know him. I saw him once… on a boat. I shouldn't have been there, but I was and I was watching him… I was practically… day dreaming when I saw him. He was perfect in every way. And I just kept feeling how much I wanted to meet him. So, I came back here to meet him… I was hoping he'd be here… but it looks like its only you then…"

Yamato smiled through the darkness knowing the merman couldn't see him, and he didn't look too interested in looking at him anyway. He was washing water over his face and head, almost like it was a necessity. "So you're gay then?"

"Of course not!" Taichi refused to admit the inevitable truth. And especially to someone who wouldn't even give him a name.

"Ok then. If I found you this human, what would you want to do after you got to know him? A solid friendship or what?"

Taichi's cheeks turned red with embarrassment. "I don't know! I'd… want to kiss him I guess."

"Really?"

"Yes, really!" Yamato held Taichi still. He stared at him with a cold glare and brought him closer into his chest. Yamato didn't even hear Taichi's rambling. Taichi had the oddest sense of fear, and was barely able to realize what was going on before he found himself being engaged in a forceful kiss. He lost him self all in one motion not even realizing his lips over the strangers. There was something so odd about it that made him think he was dreaming as one of the viewers watching from afar.

He wasn't thinking about the anger and lavish curses his father was going to set on him if he had ever seen something he loathed so much. It was a crime that made him feel absolutely complete.

Yamato tore away, looking both confused and angry with himself and with Taichi for allowing him to do it. He moved back a little, breathing heavily to catch his breath. He looked at him with dread excuses, "That was for saving my life."

Taichi bit down on his lip shaking his head, oddly calm about the whole incident. "Something told me it was you," he found his voice whispering. Though it was a little too quiet for Yamato to hear.

Some part of him wanted to leave and forget this talk never came up, but if he left without a name, how would he remember him? It wasn't like his mind was a picture book, and even if it was, the face was unclear with the moonlight as their only torch.

"I want to know your name…"

"Why?"

"Because there's something about you I need." He explained. It was a doubtful thought for him. But there was something there he was willing to fight for. But how would Sora react? She didn't love him, so it wouldn't be a real problem… but what if there was a secret all along? What if Sora had actually _liked _Taichi… and just found out today he was gay?

"I… I think I need to go," Taichi said after stumbling upon the thought of his best friend.

"Where to?"

As much as he didn't think it was any of the stranger's business, he didn't find himself ashamed to tell him about his friend back home. "My best friend… she's a girl… and I think I've done something very, very wrong to her…"

"So is this the last time I'll ever see you?" Yamato asked scarcely. Truly, he didn't want Taichi to leave just yet. There was so much he wanted to talk about before he too had to return home to his prison.

"I wanted to know your name for a reason… it's not like I'm gonna' grow legs and stalk you or anything."

"You can never be too sure," Yamato laughed at his own comment. He trusted him, and so he said, "It's Yamato… Prince Yamato Ishida."

"I'm sorry about everything I've done, Yamato."

Yamato restlessly got to his feet, staring back into the water at the frozen merman. The silence stretched on and on, until he finally said, "Forget that ever happened… I didn't mean it anyway…"

Taichi blinked. Though there was no real justification to the words, there was a hint of sadness Taichi could detect in the boy's eyes. It clearly said he didn't mean a word he just said.

The brunette just stared, he was shocked to see the human so down. Then he knew, humans had a weak spot in their hearts. A tender place that every other living thing had… then why did he feel so guilty if it wasn't his fault?

* * *

Thanxs for reading. Hope you enjoyed it. Please review too.

- X-HARU


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry took so long to update. Thank you for you patients for me. Uh.. What do i say? Enjoy! Excuse the mistakes.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Digimon, nor doI own the little mermaid (so unfortunate)

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* * *

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**:Your Ocean My Land:**

Chapter Four  
_Deal with the devil_

He arrived home around midnight, stopping to ponder along the way. He opened his window and climbed into it lazily slinking over to his bed where he collapsed forward on his chest. It was an especially hot night. Taichi could feel himself sticking to the sheets as he tried to think. Sora was heavily on his mind forcing him into a state of inward questioning. Nicely, he wanted her to stuff off.

"The sea witch can help me… but no one in Atlanta can. Sora was my only friend in this good for nothing prison!" he managed to throw his arm out and push the small lamp off his bedside. It shattered seconds later, but Taichi didn't even look at it a second time to see if it had landed in one piece.

He felt it; an idea that had the ability to turn his fate around.

His tail wildly flipped about in shock as the voice he never would have thought to hear again speared through his window. "Taichi!" she gasped. At Taichi's shocked expression, she continued, "Oh thank god! I was starting to think I would never see you again!" she hugged him.

He returned the favour. Taichi didn't give it any thought, though he sure as hell would later as he lay awake on his bed, staring at the ceiling, numbly thinking about the recent and bizarre events quaking his world. "I was starting to think the same thing…" he smiled. "You've come for a reason, haven't you?"

"Yeah…" she started weakly, but her domineer never seized to rise again and surprise the brunette youth. "I started thinking you might have thought of something," she said, making her idea sound like it had been skewed on the spot.

"I did… I think I've got something that might just work," the words were flat, but Sora didn't seem to take notice, and if she did, her smile was still there anyway. That is until he went on, "I've thought about it… I may not have to go –from my fathers point of view that is."

Sora was utterly confused. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not done!" he hastened, the explanation poured from his mouth so quickly it sounded like gibberish. "You have to just listen… what if I get someone to dress up like me and we get that merman Gennai, to make a plastic model of my face? Then I could leave that person in charge of my life here in the ocean while I go!"

Sora couldn't find the will in her stunned body to smile. Sora blinked, noticing her friend's flushed face, his wild eyes, and his huge grin. He looked completely psychotic. Though oddly enough, she wasn't frightened. "Who would be stupid enough to look like you?" she finally asked. It was mildly dim-witted for someone like Sora to overlook. He continued to grin at her that ridiculous grin. "What?" she asked, still seeming confused. Then it hit her. That was the straw that broke the camels back. "No! No! No! And no!"

"Please, Sora?" he started begging; hands clamped firmly together with his fingers jointed in the slots like a puzzle.

"I'm _not _going to have your life! You're a guy!"

"So what? I need you now more then ever! It will only be a week, I swear. I'll be back before the wedding. All you have to do is put up with good old daddy for a week… or so," he added quietly at the end.

"I can't believe I fall for these stupid things! What do you take me for, Tai?"

"A friend?" he toyed. Taichi knew he was grating on her nerves, even if she wasn't showing it to him. She was acting completely calm for the occasion –an amazing feat for Sora in such a situation!

"I'm not a tool!" she looked away. Taichi dropped his head and didn't seem to notice Sora look back at him. But if he did, he would have seen the soft red eyes curving toward him with a mild guilt that she couldn't refuse. "Fine!" she felt annoyed and kicked her tail. "I'm doing it for you! But you _swear _you wont leave me too long?"

"Sure! I swear." He grinned widely. Sora sighed reddening in her face. She put a hand on her face and started laughing. Taichi laughed too. "That old merman Gennai can fix you up! He's been my friend ever since… ever!"

Taichi was already working on opening his window again. And by the time Sora found it in her to ask what Gennai did, he was already outside, swimming down into the heart of Atlanta. He turned around and jutted his hand out and grabbed Sora's arm, squeezing harshly. "C'mon, hurry!" His voice was excited; his breath heavy, his words fast and strung together in a rushed fashion. Without waiting for a reply, Taichi was pulling her, almost dragging her toward Gennai's home.

Taichi stumbled over some coral growth on a rock. He quickly regained balance and swum straight forward at a door, Sora right on him. He knocked at it restlessly. They waited a while nothing was said. Then someone answered.

"Hello- Taichi!" the man yelled. He was wrather wrinkly all over, obviously on lis last fin.

Taichi found it only common to reply, "Hey, Gennai."

"What brings you here? And at this hour?" the man queried staring at the watch on his wrist. Surprisingly, it wasn't broken, and Sora was staring at is oddly. Taichi didn't seem to notice, or for that matter care.

"I have a job I need you to do. You see my friend here," Taichi moved aside for Gennai to see his best friend who wasn't far behind him when he moved. She looked anxious, both hands behind her back, and her face completely red. "I need you to make Sora, me."

Gennai ushered them inside and looked her over, up down, back to front. "Hm…" he stroked his chin carefully. "I think it can be done… I'll take her into my lab, do the best I can, and you can sit here," –he pointed across the room to a comfortable looking green sofa- "wish us luck!"

Gennai left the room at quick pace. Sora wasn't keen on following him into the bright room ahead, but she remembered why she was doing this. She glared at Taichi as she walked by, "I'm going to _murder _you when I come out," she muttered.

"Have fun!" Taichi waved her off. She walked through the door, closed it, and then Taichi saw nothing. He drifted over to the lounge and sank into it, calmly waiting as the twelve o'clock hand moved slowly onto the two.

It was about 3:00AM before they finished, and having started the process at 12:00AM it was a great achievement for them both to come back out the door. Taichi's eyes widened with horror. He thought he was looking at a mirror. Sora didn't let him speak,

"You laugh, and I will stuff your tongue in the back of your throat!"

Taichi drifted forward a little toward Sora to study her all over. Her once red hair was dyed Taichi's chocolate brown, and oddly gelled out like his. Gennai had coated her face in a skin-like material she had complained about for the past half hour –the stickiness was really getting to her. Most of all, he admired her blue scales. Unlike Taichi, and _like_ all mermaids, hers were green, where as Taichi's and all the other merman of Atlanta had blue.

Gennai smirked; he was impressed with his achievement and the time spent on it. He never doubted that this was his finest work yet. Or most successful attempt yet. "I think it was a job well done!"

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Taichi agreed. Sora was the only one finding no muse with herself. "Sora… you're…" his face turned into something of pure shock. "Wow! I didn't think it was possible. But it was! You look stunning!"

"No need to compliment yourself," her voice patient. Taichi thought she was ready to charge forward and beat him to the ground. But he thanked his wrong estimation and watched her fascination in Gennai's home. "What are these things?" she couldn't blink. Only move her stiff muscles enough to view an ornament close up.

"What? That?" Gennai guessed she was looking at a pair of bright red ballroom shoes he had hanging from a wall. The lace had been tied together and let hanging from a hook. "I picked them up… ages ago. They're shoes."

Sora didn't want to touch them. Just staring made her feel like she was enchanted. "Shoes? What do they do?" Taichi laughed at her odd amusement. He'd heard of shoes many times before. He was so eager to become a human, once he even tries fitting a shoe onto his fin. But the attempt was far off from success.

"Human's put them on their feet and walk in them. But those shoes are used for talented humans. Some humans can dance, you see." Taichi listened up; never hearing about a human dancing was quite captivating. "We think dancing is easy, because the water supports us. But they have two legs, and that's the only thing keeping them upright… talented humans can dance. And they are just a certain pair of shoes used to dance in."

Sora liked them. Though Taichi –being the stubborn ill-mannered boy he was- found the conversation a little boring. He made himself the centre of attention by loudly clearing his throat. "Gennai. I need you to take care of Sora for me while I'm gone!"

"Wait!" Sora jumped in before he was completely out of sight. "What about Sora? Me? What about me? Won't everyone be asking where I went?"

Taichi already had that part figured out while they were sitting in that room for hours on end getting the make-up scenario fixed up. "Don't worry… I've written a letter to your parents telling them you've gone away to visit your grandparents in the South."

She sighed, "Thanks… you're really keen on doing this aren't you?"

He didn't reply to her. He just left. Swam out the door after smiling and nodding one last time. No long goodbyes. No see you soon. Just gone… Sora closed her eyes and weakly smiled.

Taichi wasted no time getting to the forbidden parts of the ocean. The forbidden parts as they called them, were the sea witches domain. After being exiled from Atlanta, she moved on and began ruling her own small little empire far out in the more black parts of the ocean -and of course being an octopus wouldn't help the colour of the water.

Taichi worriedly swam, keeping an eye out for strange looking creatures. He was close now, and could almost feel the wrath of the sea witches presence. His arm was bound before he could even realize it had been struck by one of her guards standing stone still by the gate.

"What brings you to these parts, son of Triton?" the fish-like creature asked, clenching tightly onto the young boy's arm. Taichi could feel his fingers loosing the blood at the tips, the pressure was hard, and the fish continued squeezing until the bone in his arm rubbed against a muscle. There was a half sickening crack in his wrist. But there wasn't time to complete the total breakage.

Taichi groaned at the pain, keeping one eye open on the fish. "I've come to see the sea witch!" he was too busy caught up in the pain to realize another of the guards swimming up from behind. This one clicked its three long pencil-like nails together; Taichi winced as one of the nails pulled up the skin on his back.

"We aren't too friendly with strangers. And it's just so odd for a merman to come out here… especially the son of Triton."

Taichi's eyes widened, heaping the sound of the nail piercing his back… deeper, harder, against the long line of bones in his back until he could feel the horrifying crack in his spine that made him arch his back onto the shoulder of the guard.

"Please," he looked at the guard with complete emotion. The guard knew where he stood, and right now it was on higher level. "I'm here to see the fucking witch you retarded bastard!"

"Palmy! Sting!" the excited voice managed to make the two release Taichi's weak body from the ache. The blood was pouring a little more freely now, tainted with the salty water until it vanished completely from sight. It was becoming harder for Taichi to keep his eyes wide open. "Ah! You must be, Taichi?" she grinned. Taichi lazily looked up not bothering to reply to her. It wasn't justice to give her respect. "Oh, why look so sad? Maybe the setting isn't what you want it to be?" she snapped her fingers. Within a second, Taichi and the witch had been transported to her quarters.

"I… I'm here because I want to become-"

"Human?" it was no shock. However, Taichi was mortified, and his expression clearly said he wasn't expecting her to finish off his sentence. "Oh-ho. Honey, you don't think I'm slacking in my witch craft, do you? Please! I know what your heart seeks… your every desire…" she relaxed, kicked back as a bubble appeared with Yamato's face in the centre.

Taichi seemed to loose himself while the witch turned up her lip and sniffed, "He'd not a bad looking guy… for a human. Human's, merman! They're all the same! Your father's just a nut! Wouldn't worry about it…" she sighed. "So! Let's get down to business, shall we?"

"Please," he nodded, never taking his eyes off Yamato.

"Well… I always seem to be open for deals. Hm-hm!" a golden scroll appeared in her hand. She rolled it out in front of Taichi's trance, instantly breaking the connection. "I see it this way… I change you into a human, and then you get one week! Seven days, seven nights. One hundred and sixty-eight hours. Ten thousand and eighty minutes. Six-hundred and four-thousand eight-hundred seconds… Catching my drift yet?"

"Uh-"

"Good!" the witch smiled at him. "So. After that time period is up, I take your life. Simple! You just suffer a painful death. Wouldn't worry about it if I were you…" she used her eight tentacles to bob toward her seat. She sat down, curling the tentacles around the chair. "But before you get too excited… my deal is not yet complete… to finish this up, I will erase Yamato's memory of ever meeting you… everyone in his family too, so nothing will seem suspicious. But I can't just say all this and not tell you how to break the contract…" Taichi listened closely. "You have to commit to him. And if you _don't _understand the work commit… I'm talking marriage!" She stopped and glanced at the young boy. Plotting ahead for her evil scheme. "Have we got a deal, my dear prince?"

Taichi's eyes landed on his hands. They were shaking. "I…" she forced a pen into his hand. He clutched it tightly; nervously chewing his bottom lip with anguish as it tapped down on the scroll again in the small box marked 'sign here'. The pen began to groove into a simple rhythm, flicking at the end.

The scroll vanished. He received a menacing glare from the witch. "Good work, boy! Guess I'll be seeing you in one week… have fun… and remember! A wedding! The wedding ends after the kiss!"

Taichi could feel his stomach churn. His eyes were blistering. He couldn't breathe only choke on the salt water entering his lungs. To make things worse, he couldn't swim any longer. His tail had separated into two legs, with five toes on the end of each foot. He coughed once, eyed blurred… then there was nothing but the hungered darkness to swallow him whole…

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Thanks for reading. I'll update a little faster I hope. See that little button thats says review? Can't miss it. Right there in the left hand corner. Feel free to click it!

- X-HARU


	5. Chapter 5

Man, I feel bad for not updating. I got bogged down with work and I had alot of things to do. Got busy. But here it is. I'm updating for everyone who reviewed this! Thankyou.

**Your Ocean My Land**

_Chapter Five_

Taichi winced against the sunlight, groaning. The excited chirping made by the hovering seagulls woke him. He looked up at them, stirring before recognition of the warm blue sky the white birds hid in.

He looked over his naked body. Silver-blue fish flipped up around him gasping for water, he was in a net of some kind, trapped behind the thick ropes stranded off the side of a boat.

Moments later there was a yell, "Damnit! Get off me you lousy human!"

Taichi ignored the jab, but focused on the fish he unintentionally was sitting on top of, like all the hundred below him. "I-I'm sorry. What's going on here? Tell me what's happening."

The fish apparently decided to let it pass. "Stuck in a net you dimwit! Can't you see that? We're all gonna' be food for _you_!"

The brunette considered this for a moment, looked around and burst into a raging metal outbreak, "I'm a human!"

"Nah, you think?" the fish said patiently. "You can breathe properly! Our kind are going to die here! And you're a stupid human who couldn't give a fishes arse!"

"No, no, no! You don't understand! I'm the son of Triton! I'm a merman!"

The fish just sniffed in response.

"You have to believe me!"

The fish's eyes narrowed on him in a glare. "Oh yeah? Then where's your royal pendant? Everyone knows the son of Triton has the royal pendant of Atlanta!"

Taichi's heart went into a state of shock. "I lost it," he said calmly. Though if the fish was still paying any attention, he was ignoring him to the greatest extent.

Taichi didn't seem to yet notice one of the men on board the ship had spotted him. "Guy's we've caught a human! Help him! Hoist the net!"

Taichi fell onto his rear –and another helpless fish- gazing up at the sailor. The net was laid out on the deck, and Taichi was loosened from the ropes.

"Our apologies sir! We didn't even seem to notice you." Taichi easily accepted the blue haired man's apology. There was something about him Taichi couldn't _quite _put his finger on. "Here," the man crouched forward to face Taichi and handed him a cloth to tie around his waist. "I'm Joe. The eldest son of the royal family."

"And you have a brother called Yamato!" Taichi pointed out.

Utterly confused, Joe just nodded. "I thought you would have known… are you going to stand up?"

Taichi stirred.

"You know… get on your feet?"

"Right…" he doubted he could do it. He'd read and heard so many things about humans being quite a talented species to be able to support their entire body capacity on two legs. There wasn't a doubt that he didn't _try_ to stand. He just wasn't as successful as his predictions.

"You need some help… have you been in a major accident of some kind?"

"… You _could _put it that way."

Joe didn't take a second to think. "I'll take you back to shore with me and get one of my servants to clean you up… then I think I should introduce you to the family." Joe pondered. "Do you have a family… sir?"

"Taichi… and I don't exactly remember if I have a family or not," he lied through his teeth.

"I'm so sorry…" Joe looked around the deck. "Well, uh. Just stay here until we disembark."

Taichi looked away, staring at the helpless sea-life around him. He had a dreadful feeling of betrayal to his kind. He couldn't save them. He wasn't even attempting to throw them overboard. He felt like a monster hidden in a new form.

* * *

Sora had been following Izzy for an hour now through the palace. She had a headache from listening to his annoying voice. Though she continued to follow, one hand running through sleep-mussed hair. She was exhausted, feeling as though she'd gotten no sleep, though she was sure she'd slept for nearly eight hours before Izzy had woken her for the morning breakfast he had prepared.

She sat at the table, stifling another yawn. "Taichi" –forgetting her name was now 'Taichi', she had completely blocked out Izzy- "Don't yawns at the breakfasts table! Your father wills be down soons, and I expects you to have yours best manners with you's." Izzy paddled away.

Sora didn't want Triton to turn up. Nausea, a headache, disease, _anything_ would have covered her right now. She just couldn't find herself to be in the mood. She was still too tired, and freshly woken.

Izzy came back with a plate balanced on his fins. He put it in front of Sora and smiled, "Please cheers up, Taichi's."

"I'm not sad. Why would I need to cheer up?"

Izzy gasped, throwing himself back. Triton's voice boomed through the room, and the sound of him pulling up a chair well symbolized he was ready and eager for breakfast.

"Good morning, son."

"Good-" Sora deepened her voice. "Good morning, father. Did you sleep well?" The boyish voice was too fake for her liking. Triton even stared.

"Are you… feeling alright, son?"

Her casual voice kicked in with a high-pitched ring to it, "Perfectly!"

Triton blinked, leaning in a little closer to examine a shiny coating on his lips. "Are you wearing red-coral?"

"No! Its cherry-flavored lip moisturizer!" Sora reached into her pocket and showed her father the packaging.

He stared at her –harder than before-. "Is that… a human thing?"

Sora swore at herself inwardly. She'd forgotten that it was from Taichi's room! No wonder why she hadn't seen anything like it before. "Maybe."

"Taichi!"

"I never said it was!" she gasped.

"You _just _made my day!" Triton went quiet. "Ah… and I'm introducing you to someone today. I'm sure you'll like her."

Sora almost inhaled her breakfast as she spooned it into her mouth. She coughed loudly turning Triton off his meal as a chunk of a chewed something splattered over her plate soiled in mucus. "Really?" she gasped.

He stared at her. "Yes. And I _don't _want any mess-ups!"

Sora gulped hard with one thought in her mind, '_Where the hell are you Tai?_'

* * *

Boats looked even better when they weren't submerged beneath water. Or so thought Taichi as he crouched beside the banister. The water wasn't clear like it had been when he was a merman. It was darker.

If he had bothered to look behind he would have seen the blue haired boy curiously watching him enjoy the scenery. He cleared his throat, making himself noticed. "We're pulling in to shore now."

Taichi smiled at him, saying nothing.

"You will be joining my family for dinner, right?"

"I uh… guess so?"

Joe grinned, "Fantastic! Now come." He grabbed Taichi's shoulder and helped him up, but –just to be sure- Taichi still had one hand on the banister. "See that young man over there?" Joe pointed directly at him. He was standing, hands casually tucked in his pockets. His choice of clothing was rather casual –a set of dark navy jeans with a white strip of Atlantic writing down the leg. His shirt was pressed and white.

"That's my little brother! He'll help clean you up, the chef will be done by then and you can join us for dinner."

Taichi managed to walk upright without falling. As the ship docked the young man greeted him at the bottom. "Hi." Giving Tai an evil glare, he started, "So what's life like under the sea?" Taichi froze stiff and Yamato shrugged. "Sorry. My brother, Joe says that's where you were found… I assume you're a human who wants to be a merman?"

"No. Not really… my ship exploded and sank to the bottom of the ocean."

"No kidding?" Yamato smiled again. "I had the same problem just the other week… someone… or… I'm sorry. My memory is blank as far as I can remember."

"But you remember being on a shipwreck?" '_He remembers? How? That sea witch said she was going to erase his memory further back!'_ it stuck with him a while longer until Joe had left them at the bathroom door.

Yamato entered the bathroom with him. Taichi waited for him to leave, but he couldn't have cared if he was to stay or not. Yamato laughed at Taichi and suggested he get into the warm tub. "You're scared to strip in front of me?" Tai said nothing to the understatement. Yamato finally sighed, "Look. There's nothing on your body I haven't seen before." Yamato turned around, and started rummaging through a cupboard.

While he did that, Taichi stripped down completely and sunk into the bath thinking it was the only opportunity he'd get any privacy. He wanted Yamato and he wanted nothing more than to have Yamato there with him in that bath, but he couldn't. Not yet. He still felt like he had to wait a while longer. He didn't want to be the one to make the first move.

He sunk under the water, and rinsed his face. It was even more comforting that way, and the bath was much warmer than any parts of the ocean had been.

Just as his head lifted from the water, Yamato handed him a bottle. He stared dumbly. "What do I do with it?"

Yamato shook his head. "Give it back." Taichi took one last glance and complied.

There was a brief empty squirt sound. Shampoo dripped into Yamato's hands, and immediately he rummaged the liquid soap through Taichi's hair. Tai didn't ask what Yamato was doing because he had seemed so sure of it. The massaging feeling was soothing anyway.

"There. That's much better now, isn't it?" As a new human instinct, Taichi dunked his head under the water to cleanse it from the soap.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me," he said calmly, amazingly his tone hadn't changed at all. "We have so much in common and I've only just met you." He said.

Taichi drifted through the warm water and turned to face the blonde. Yamato stared directly at him, bringing himself closer to the brunette. He smiled softly and stared down at his knees, "I keep having this weird feeling in my stomach… I…" he squinted. "I know I've seen you somewhere… I just can't recall where…"

"Maybe you ran past me in town?"

Yamato leaned back on his heels and grinned, "I don't know what it is, yet… but I'll figure it out…" he closed his eyes keeping the smirk on his face. "I feel like an idiot."

Taichi blinked. "Why? You shouldn't! You seem like a great-"

Yamato bounded forward on his heels, meeting his mouth with Tai's. Taichi had the oddest sense of fear motioning through his spine, and was barely able to realize what was going on before he found himself being engaged in an unexpected, forceful kiss. His mind went suddenly and completely blank. It didn't even occur to him that Yamato was only a stranger. Yamato fell forward pinning the brunette to the opposite corner of the bath in a suggestive position, kissing him with unleashed passion and love all rolled into one action.

Taichi let his mind wander. He didn't break it. He only pulled him tighter into his bare chest.

Yamato pulled away and scampered out the bath to put distance between him and the stranger. He breathed heavily, catching his breath. He swore loudly and jerk away from the brunette apologizing as he ran out asking himself 'why' all the way to his room.

Taichi shook his head, dazed and keeping calm. He looked around. Hanging from a chair, Yamato had kept some dry clothing for him. But Tai hadn't any idea that he'd have to dry off before he put them on. So after he'd gotten dressed, the clothes were still drenched.

He couldn't think after that. He wandered out the door with different conclusions rambling in his head, '_Yamato knows… he has too… there can't be any other reason… or maybe there is… I'll talk to him later! I'll ask him why he did it… why am I complaining! Maybe… no…'_ he looked around for any sign of the blonde. He wasn't around though, so Tai just continued looking around for the dining room where he'd hope Yamato would turn up… he could only hope…

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it. Got questions, please ask. Hope you'll review. It gives me the urge to write more. Haha!

- X-HARU


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